good morning. breaking news in a late-night vote, the house gives final approval of legislation, pulling the country back from the brink of the fiscal cliff but does it set up an even bigger financial fight in washington down the road? recovering, hillary clinton spending a fourth day at a new york hostal where she's being treated for a blood clot in her head. we're there live with the latest on her condition. and eat this and this and this. the controversial new diet that lets you eat anything you want for eight hours a day. we'll talk to the familiar face behind the plan "today," wednesday, january 2nd, 2013.

>> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm erica hill in today for savannah. happy new year. >> happy new year to you. this is our first day -- tech nknick ally, we were here yesterday, but this is our first day back together. >> everybody was here yesterday. >> technically. happy new year to you. >> a lot going on. in the briefing room after that vote in the house, passing the fiscal cliff legislation. >> in the end, the president got most of what he wanted including higher taxes for families making over $450,000 a year. there were things left out of this bill that have angered a lot of republicans and set the stage for some contentious

debates down the road. we'll have a live report from capitol hill, straight ahead. also ahead, a papparazza taking pictures of justin bieber's car was hit and killed in los angeles last night. and some gadgets and gizmos designed to help you get fit. the free flexor, body blade and hyper whole body vibration machi machine. we'll check them out. >> laughter and hilarity will ensue. kelly o'donnell now is live on capitol hill. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. it was slow and it was ugly, but in the end, congress did go bipartisan, passing something they call tax relief which many of them do not like. one fight down is another taken up. the president and congress have set the stage for what could be the next fiscal cliff.

nearly 24 hours after the new year deadline, but before a real world crisis set in, congress finally acted. >> the nays are 167. the motion is adopted. >> reporter: to cut some taxes permanently and delay for just two months severe military and federal spending cuts. that gave president obama reason to make a rare late-night stop in the briefing room. >> under this law, more than 98% of americans and 97% of small businesses will not see their income taxes go up. >> reporter: the president quickly turned from thanking congress to calling them out over raising the country's borrowing limit, the debt ceiling, necessary within weeks. >> while i will negotiate over many things, i will not have another debate with this congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they've already racked up. >> reporter: many in both parties remain frustrated that the fiscal cliff deal does not cut the deficit.

>> i severely regret that this is not a big, bold, balanced plan. >> reporter: and that will be the next washington drama. >> we also need to address the fundame fundamental causes of our debts and deficits and that's out-of-control spending. >> reporter: columnist david brooks criticized congress for setting up fights by avoiding hard decisions. far from laying the groundwork for future cooperation, it sentences the country to another few years of budget warfare. the president opened the door to reducing entitlements to reduce the deficit. >> i agree with democrats and republicans that the aging population and rising cost of health care makes medicare the biggest contributor to our deficit. >> reporter: after midnight as lawmakers poured out of the capital with just one day left before a new congress takes over, the president headed overnight to hawaii to rejoin his family on vacation. so, washington takes a breath

now, but there are those other fights coming. in fact, it will be just a matter of weeks before they fight over raising the country's ceiling to borrow. we will be back to some othe same wrangling very soon. matt? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you very much. chuck todd is nbc's political correspondent and our political direct director, of course. they got this done at the 11th hour -- after the 13g9 hour if you want to be accurate about it. a lot of people aren't happy about this. the tax situation we know about. when it comes to deficit and spending it's totally a kick the can approach, isn't it? >> it's totally that. they've done this to themselves now multiple times. this is the story, this 112th congress does leave us today and some people say finally leaves us today because this is the story of this congress. every major decision they came

up to -- and it began with a threat of a government shutdown just two months into this congress. and then, of course, we had the debt ceiling showdown. then it culminated with this fiscal cliff and created what's coming in march. what's coming in march, matt, take all the fights we had separately and put them all in one fight and expiring all at the same time, debt ceiling, funding the entire federal government, that expires. >> and i thought david brooks column was powerful and eye opening. kelly mentioned something he said but he said if congress couldn't make a single tough decision under these circumstances, why should we think it will make any further down the road? more likely, there will just be more squabbling and brinkmanship, more posturing and punting, which would not only poison future budget talks, chuck but also prospects for immigration reform, tax reform, gun control and many other projects. not a rosie picture. >> it isn't. i'm trying to figure out the

relationship between, for instance, house speaker john boehner and the white house is terrible. let's not pretend they can get anything done. yet you still have to get something through the house. perhaps this new -- this relationship, renewed relationship between the white house, joe bide nen particular, and mitch mcconnell is a way to get some things done, but it is going to dominate this thing. and one thing to look back here and to figure this out is republicans have to figure out what they want. if you look back on it, matt, this was a debacle for the republican party. we almost had the republican leadership in the house completely undermine the republican leadership in the senate when it looked like they were threaten to scuttle the whole thing. more than any republican party in a generation has ever helped anybody raise taxes and have nothing for it. >> here is a prominent republican, lindsey graham, saying this. round two is coming and we're

going to have one hell of a contest about the direction and vision of this country. >> well, the republican party has to figure out what it wants to be first before they sit down at the negotiating table. then they've got to figure out who is going to do the negotiating for them. is it mitch mcconnell? is it john boehner? who runs the republican party? i think that's unclear out of all this. one piece of fallout here -- look, lindsey graham is right. it's going to be a giant fight. until the republican party is sort of unified at what it wants to do, they're not going to be an effective negotiating force against the president. >> a busy couple of months. chuck todd, thank you very much. >> you got it, matt. >> now here's erica. doctors say secretary of state hillary clinton is making excellent progress as she recovers from a blood clot in her head. anne thompson is at new york presbyterian hospital with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. this is day four for secretary of state hillary clinton in the hospital as doctors try to use

blood thinners to try to dissolve that potentially dangerous blood clot behind her right ear. in her four years as secretary of state, hillary clinton never seemed to stop until now. she has been out of the public eye since this appearance in l belfast. suffering a stomach virus, concussion and this past sunday an mri revealed the blood clot. >> patients who just have a mild concussion, that risk is extremely low. it would be very rare to have this type of complication of a concussion. >> reporter: the clot is in a vein on the surface of the brain that carries blood to the heart and lung. the fear is if it grows larger, blood could back up in the brain, causing a stroke. using blood thinners, doctors hope to slowly dissolve the clot. >> prognosis for this type of problem tick typically if it's isolated to one small area, the

prognosis is very good. >> reporter: superlatives mark hillary clinton's career, the most admired woman in america for the 11th consecutive year in the gallup poll, the most traveled secretary of state, locke logging one million miles and visiting 127 countries. some speculated that clinton was trying to avoid answering questions on capitol hill about benghazi. >> when you don't want to go to a meeting, conference or event, you have a diplomatic illness. this is a diplomatic illness to beat the band. >> reporter: one day he said the lack of details was to protect her presidential ambition. but yesterday the often crit icl new york post wished clinton well, arguing her answers about benghazi, quote, can come later. a full recovery is what's important now. new york democrats assist the

former senator will rebound. >> she is as tough as nails. she is strong. she is resilient. we wish her a very speedy recovery. >> reporter: her husband, former president bill clinton, is believed to have been at the hospital. her daughter, chelsea, an nbc news special correspondent, acknowledge acknowledged well wishers on twitter, writing thank you to all for sending good thoughts my mom's way. grateful to all her doctors and that she will make a full recovery. this is not the first time secretary clinton has dealt with a blood clot. she had one in her leg in 1998. erica? >> anne thompson, thank you. dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical director. >> good morning, erica. >> you said it's important to clarify this is not on her brain. >> it's the drainage route for the blood that goes into the brain and has to get back in the heart. it's not right in the brain, on the skull but in the canvasy area called the dura, that

in-between area. >> when we hear that there was a concussion prior to this, does that tell you anything about the type of fall? >> viral gastroenteritis. she got dehydrated, fainted, clunked her head. that caused a tiny tear in a blood vessel that frankly then started to slowly leak into this area that acts like a pool of blood. that pool is constantly sending blood away from the brain. in this case, it became stagnant, it clotted. if you don't get that out or it doesn't start moving on its own, then because the skull is so rigid, pressure builds up, you get headaches and that can lead to a series of events if, untreated, can be very serious. >> still typically this is not the type of thing that you would use a blood thinner?

>> this is so atypical, a lot of us were stumped. i talked to my brother, who does this type of surgery. if there's a blood clot you either leave it alone and watch it or put a drain hole in the skull and suck it out and evacuate it. to anti-coagulate somebody puts them at risk because you worry about risk of bleeding in the brain. they still realized it was an isolated place, it wasn't going away and the best chance of curing her then was to put her on the blood thinners. >> does that add any extra concern to you as a doctor? >> no, because now they know exactly what they have on mri. they know exactly what to focus on. they'll watch her blood clotting really, really carefully. look, she's probably working from her bed at this point. she'll have a full recovery. even if she doesn't travel anymore, she'll have a really, really good prognosis. but this is -- there's an old statement in medicine. you never want to be a

fascinating patient. you never want to be a fascinating case. she's now become more than a fascinating woman. she's a fascinating medical mystery. >> boring is better, right? >> boring is always better. >> thanks, nancy. let's go over to the news desk and get the headlines of the morning. natalie is off. we've got willie geist sitting in. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt, erica. abandoned plans to vote on an aid package for victims of superstorm sandny this current term of congress. the senate had approved more than $60 billion to help residents of the east coast recover. residents from hard-hit new york and new jersey are furious, peter king calling it inexcusable. open house is being held at a connecticut middle school that has been reoutfitted to serve survivors of sandy hook elementary. classes begin there on thursday.

police in los angeles are investigating the death of a celebrity photographer who was hit by a car tuesday while trying to take pictures of a white ferarri owned by pop star justin bieber. bieber was not in the car. the driver who struck the photographer has been released. an investigation is under way into tuesday's deadly crowd stampede after new year's celebration in ivory coast. at least 61 people were crushed to death while leaving a fireworks show at a stadium. the taliban released a statement today that ridicules the planned withdrawal of u.s. forces from afghanistan next year calling it a, quote, declared victory and comparing it to the u.s. withdrawal from vietnam. cnbc's courtney reagan is at the new york stock exchange with a look at wall street. good morning. >> good morning, willie. happy new year. u.s. stocks are poised to kick off the new year on a high note.

investors reacting to the house vote last night on the bill to avoid the fiscal cliff. stocks and commodities are expe expected to move higher as uncertainty dissipates. however, traders think the rally could be short lived as the next big battle in washington looms in just a few weeks over raising the nation's borrowing limit. willie? >> courtney, thank you very much. love at the flowers at tuesday's tournament of roses parade. a virginia couple tied the knot aboard the appropriately named love float and first class eric paz stepped off the float he was riding to surprise his wife and 4-year-old son, who were among the spectators. it is now 7:16. back to matt, erica and al, who was there at the parade. those things never get old, do they, guys? >> there was not a dry eye in the house. it was really very special. sergeant first class paz doing tours in iraq and afghanistan. >> the only thing he was afraid

of was that his wife would be mad at him for lying about where he was. good to have you back. >> good to see everybody. let's take a look. things fairly quiet across the country. the big story will be the cold air, the jet stream dipping way down to the south. 49 in houston. 44 in albuquerque. temperatures anywhere 10 to 15, to 20 degrees below normal. for the day today, a little clipper bringing snow across the plains into the great lakes. lake-effect snow there. temperatures little on the cool side, pacific northwest with temperatures in the 40s. showers down through the gulf coast. we'll get to your local forecast, but first this message. but is a number inspiring? ♪ we believe in a more powerful motivation. [ woman #1 ] pride. [ woman #2 ] posibilidades. [ woman #3 ] self esteem. [ woman #4 ] confidenca. [ female announcer ] not a number, but the way we want to feel.

[ woman #5 ] beautiful. [ female announcer ] tell us... what will you gain when you lose? >> quiet as people had back to school and work. clearing into the afternoon. highs in the 40's. and that's your latest weather. matt? the fiscal cliff deal that was reached will raise taxes for people who make more than $450,000. that's nothing compared to france.

michelle kosinski is there. good morning to you. >> reporter: tougher trying to imagine being successful or lucky enough to earn a million dollars in a year, then being asked to hand over 75% of that in taxes. the french president has been pushing for that, though his law was just ruled unconstitutional in its current form. the effect has been the same in other countries, even the u.s., when high taxes have loomed a run for the border. it may be the birth place of labels and luxury, chanel, champagne. revolutionary cry of liberty equality for eternity had a discomfort like the scene out of the movie marie antoinette. >> france is a country where you have a president who said i don't like the rich. >> reporter: nicknamed president bling-bling and who vowed to

help ease the country's stagnation and deficit by taxing the rich, 75% on income over a million euros. according to polls, most citizens agreed with this. entrepreneurs have gone wild, saying this would further kill any innovative spirit here and driving already an estimated thousands of wealthy or wanna-be wealthy people out to switzerland, london, including gerard -- the french film icon who starred in "green card" is now bidding adieu to france for belgium which doesn't have a movie theater but is full of tax exiled millionaires. the government has said it unpatriotic, but he equally slammed them, causing an uproar here. >> the problem is france is not

a fiscal cliff. it's sort of like fiscal quicksa quicksand. bit by bit, the french are losing confidence. instead of doing what we do in the united states or what they do in britain which is to say you want to work hard, you want to make money, you will be rewarded. >> reporter: it would affect a few thousand people but was shot down because it targets individual instead of household income. the government said it will find a way to enact it in some form this year while other taxes also rise. today in france, the rich are revolting against it with their feet, taking their cash away. around here we keep running into american tax exiles, people who have given up their citizenship to protect their money from taxes. do you know where in the world has the highest income taxes currently? the island of aruba, 60% for its highest earning individuals and sweden at around 57%.

matt? >> michelle kosinski in paris this morning. thank you very much. from what i understand, that town in belgium where gerard depardu moved, their gardens in the backyard are in france. >> you lose depardu, you lose the country. >> very famous saying. thank you for that. just ahead, four prominent americans, including warren buffet and the world's youngest self-made billionaire discuss your prospects for 2013 when it comes to money and other things. and good-bye to gangnam style why psy could be hanging up his dance moves once and for all. oh, please. first this is "today" on nbc.

coming up, a new diet that would fix only the hours you eat

not what you eat. >> a woman fights back the insulting way she was identified by a valet. she shares her story after these messages and your local weather. flaky layers biscuits in just 15 minutes the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. pillsbury grands biscuits let the making begin. try our entrees, snacks and new salads. salmon with basil, garlic chicken spring rolls, and now salads, like asian-style chicken. enjoy over 130 tasty varieties, anytime. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story. these are sandra's "homemade"

yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. a teenager is dead after a late night crash in harford county. it happened just before midnight at bush chapel road in aberdeen. the 17-year-old lost control of his field goal and collided head-on with oncoming traffic he later died at the hospital. the driver of the other vehicle

was not injured. time for a check of your morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> we have an accident in harford county. on 95 northbound, the ramp to exceed 2152. we have an accident at the park and ride. they are adjusting the camera right now. watch the closures from 95 to mountain route. at slow going on the north and west side outer loop on average. 45 on the north side, 46 on the j.f.x. southbound. 95 looks good at o'donnell. prior to this from one month to the beltway northeast, expect to be delayed this morning. not too bad on the beltway.

>> the pressure to ourselves. a couple of sprinkles and flurries this morning. temperatures around 32 at the airport. upper 20s in the northwest suburbs. forecast for central maryland -- a birchers seasonably cool. -- temperatures are seasonably cool. high temperatures up near 40.

that's al and some of the gang here feeling the burn this morning. a lot of people resolve to get fit and lose weight. some of those people may be going out to buy some of the hottest gadgets on the market, including that one -- or those ones that these guys are using right now. we'll try some of those gadgets to see if they will help you get in shape. also an eight-hour diet that comes with a bold promise, drop as much as five pounds a week while eating what you want. gangnam style, the first video to have a billion views on

youtube, the singer may say he may retire his hit. >> he said it got too popular and he's ready to move on to the next big thing, which is fine. fextremely successful americans gaze into the crystal ball for 2013. our very revealing and diverse round table, warren buffet, founder of spanx. one florida woman left her car with a valet. she got her vehicle back but along with it came something she never expected. kerry sanders has the story. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: car parking valets have all sorts of memory tricks to match the car to the keys to the person who left the car. one florida valet here secretly used a description that offended one woman and she demanded an apology.

actress sharon peoples was headed to work last month and valeted her car near the local theater where she was performing. the next day, the valet parking ticket she found in her car made her angry. right there four descriptive words scrawled on the ticket, she assumes written by the valet. >> in handwriting it said play, red dress and fat on it. i was mortified, embarrassed, in front of my boyfriend especially. >> reporter: called trying to find out who was responsible. >> i wanted them to be reprimanded appropriately and i wanted it handled in a manner that this would never, ever happen again. >> reporter: after complaining she received this e-mail from dan silva. please accept our sincerest apologies. moving forward physical appearance will not be written on tickets and this type of situation will never occur again. silva offered sharon free valet parking and a restaurant gift card. in a statement to nbc news, the

ceo of the company says he spoke to sharon to apologize and the employee who wrote that description on the ticket has been disciplined. >> and i hope, i hope and pray that doesn't happen to anybody else. >> reporter: but apparently it does happen elsewhere. across the internet, people have posted their own versions of sharon's parking stub. this receipt allegedly from a chain restaurant notes the to go order is for nerds and another receipt, order number 315 is reportedly for an asian customer. at this chicken restaurant, this order apparently is for a guy with no hair. >> if it could hurt your customer, your business, your relationship with your employer, it's best not to do it. >> as for sharon the actress, she hopes that people learn words hurt. >> i think that knowledge is power and at this point i just think that people should know what happened to me and maybe,

maybe this will change something. >> reporter: sharon peoples says she has now met face to face with the valet parking company manager, accepts the apology and will give the valet company another chance. erica, thank you? >> i like that she stood out -- or stood up and told the story despite the embarrassment because i thimplg it might help other people prevent it in the future. let's get another check of the weather now from mr. roker. >> announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by massage envy. this new year, start your wellness resolution with massage envy. >> good morning, everybody. brisk day. 16th birthday here. a lot of folks trying to do something to help the folks suffering from hurricane sandy. take a look. this is asbury park, new jersey, the tenth annual polar bear plunge. they raise money to water

temperatures of 46 degrees. tell them about the shrinkage, jerry! that is rough. oh, man! let's see what we have for you this morning. weak system from southern texas all the way into the southeast, bringing light showers. no big problems with this as we look around the rest of the country. we are going to see blowing and drifting snow through the plains as the clipper comes across through the great lakes, bringing lake-effect snow. plenty of sunshine in the southwest. showers through the gulf coast. sunny here in new york. it >> starting off with clouds. high temperature in the upper 30's to the low 40's. no major

>> got another sweet 16. happy birthday. >> al, thanks. still ahead the unusual new laws that are now in effect in the new year. and up next, what should you do with your money in 2013? matt talks about that with some of the most successful people in america after this. lucky charms?! ♪

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we're back now at 7:39 with words of wisdom for the new year from some great minds. warren buffet, tony robins, san antonio mayor, and creator of spanx, sarah. after so many economic starts and stops, do they see positive things in 2013? >> i'm usually optimistic about america. you're in the right place. if you're born in this country, you know, you're one of the luckiest individuals in the world. and go back to 1776 and what we have works. >> all of you also optimistic? >> i would say so. look at 2013, i'm optimistic because there is a force we've been a part of for a couple hundred years and that's a force of technology going geometric. it's changed our access to resources. the phone most people have in

their pocket today, this is something the president of the united states didn't have 20 years ago. then you have guys like this gentleman or bill gates, spending their life fortune about how to end hunger, how to fight disease. >> this is like one big woodstock event here. everybody is so optimistic. are you as optimistic? >> well, i am. you can feel the mood of the country, i think, brightening. i think we're ready to let out a collective breath and get on with prospering. >> what about uncertainty? you're a great businesswoman. you tell me, matt, it's going to be bad for the next three years, i can plan for that. if you say, i'm not sure how long this is going to last, i think uncertaintyan be paralyzing. >> an entrepreneur, i'm not uncertain about myself and my team. and i spent so little time focused on is the economy up, is the economy down when i started spanx right before 9/11, a lot of people would say it was a horrible time.

i didn't know it was a horrible time. i never had taken a business class. sometimes the economy is up, sometimes it's down. you trudge your course. for me i made a product that was good and the public wanted it. >> tomorrow is always uncertain. the future, the longer future is always very certain. that's what you have to keep your eye on. >> we've gone through a very contentious election. a lot of people, i think, just my opinion, came out of it wondering whether government can do its job, whether there's so much dysfunction at the federal and even at local levels. >> sure. >> that we can count on government. in the coming year, what would you tell people about that? >> the fact is that washington is only one facet of government. most of what affects people's daily lives actually goes on at the local level. police that protect you, firefighters that protect you, people that pick up your garbage. quality of life of the neighborhoods you live in are impacted by local governments. everyday individuals have a chance toim packet what happens there. so it's easy to create a cardboard of what government is.

really it's functioning very well in a lot of these local communities. >> in this coming year of 2013, how would you say it is in terms of starting your own business? is it a good idea? >> that depends on the individual. some people have natural entrepreneurial abilities and tendencies and there's a course called 10,000 small businesses, which we've been sponsoring in various cities, new york, new orleans, chicago and so on. that would be a terrific thing to join if you think you have that sort of talent. not everybody does. >> but if you don't have the certainty, you shouldn't begin. because the things you'll have to face, as you said, if you don't have that certainty, if you don't have the ability to say i'll find a way to add more value to other people's lives, then don't begin. >> this young lady has the idea. that people would clamor for. if you don't have that great

idea, you just have what you think is a good idea, should you resist the urge to start a business? >> i think it's beneficial. the reason why is talent is easier to find. other corporations, the big guys you're competing against get much more conservative and buyers at stores want to take -- they're looking for something more inventive, more interesting. for me with spanx, it came at a time when everybody else was sort of becoming so conservative that the buyers at niemans and bloomies said okay we'll give this a chance. >> more than half of them were started in a recession or depression. disney in a depression, all those company that is start in tougher times get so strong when spring comes after winter, they're able to dominate for many, many decades. >> what were times like when you started berkshire hathaway? >> they were reasonable times. i actually bought my first stock in 1942 and it was in the spring

and we've been -- after pearl harbor. we were getting clobbered every place. you know, we had the death march at the time. >> you took a chance? >> it was a great time to buy stock. >> reporter: >> and we'll have more with them in a little while. up next, good-bye sexy ladies. why psy is ready to retire his breakout single, gangnam style, after this. i'm jennifer hudson. i hate getting up in the morning. i love bread. i love cheese. did i say i love chocolate? i'm human! and the new weight watchers 360 program lets me be. the reason i'm still in this body feelin' so good isn't because i never go out and enjoy the extra large, extra cheese world we live in. it's because i do. and you can too. because when a weight loss program is built for human nature you can expect amazing. introducing the new weight watchers 360 program. join for free and expect amazing. because it works.

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gangnam style was the surprise hit of 2012. if psy has his way, we'll hear less of it in 2013. andrea canning has more on that. >> you can tell matt to stop crying about this news because it's unofficial. i'm just kidding. but it completely came as a shock. after playing his blockbuster hit at times square on new year's eve, he say it may be time to retire. what better way to do it? psy it isn't so. all good things must come to an end, including the uber viral phenomenon known simply as gangnam style. the korean rapper performed his hit in times square, his 35g9 birthday, and that could very well be the last time we see him do the horsey dance live.

♪ hey sexy ladies >> aside from previously scheduled gigs overseas, he is hanging gangnam style up. in america i need a new single because gangnam style got too popular. that's quite the understatement and not a bad problem to have. the song has been viewed over 1 billion times on youtube. the first clip ever to surpass the 1 billion mark. >> we're not even sure if it's possible for him to retire it, because it seems like if you're paid for a psy concert and you don't hear gangnam style there may be a mini riot. >> in 2012 it was everywhere, literally. ellen and britney did it, so did the navy. snl spoofed it. from washington, d.c. to new york's madison square gardens with none other than madonna. >> one, two, three, four.

>> reporter: he even brought his signature moves to the "today" show plaza. and our anchors had an exclusive gangnam style dance lesson. by the end of 2012, the song had topped the music charts of more than 30 countries. now the big question, can psy capture lightning in a bottle the second time and prove he's not just a one-hit wonder? only time will tell. until then his smash hit is only a click away on youtube. good-bye and good luck, gangnam style. we hardly knew you. again, the so-called gangnam style retirement is unofficial. we'll have to wait and see. something tells me david gregory is crying in a corner somewhere right now and probably doing the horsey dance. >> he's not going to let it die. there's no question. andrea, thanks. a few laws across the country caught our attention. more than a few. this time of year you find out

about these wacky laws. in maryland, michigan and new jersey, delaware, illinois and california, employers now can no longer require or request your social media passwords from employees or job applicants. >> in kentucky, releasing wild hogs into the wild is prohibited. >> oh, man. >> how about illinois? it's now legal for people to collect roadkill off the side of the road. >> it is legal? >> it is now legal. >> unless you run into a wild hog. >> that was illegally set into the wild. >> there are roadkill restaurants, by the way, across this country. true story. you can take roadkill and they will cook it for you. >> bring your own roadkill? >> bring your own roadkill. >> all right. >> i like this one in wellington, kansas, which will have a lot of cat ladies upset. hou households cannot have more than four cats per household.

>> skipping ahead real quickly, in illinois a new skin tax band-aids that strip clubs charge $3 at the door and send those proceeds to charity. they nicknamed this willie's law. >> you beat me to a joke. that's good. anyway, coming up, we'll get some exercise gadgets like this one. what's this called? flexor. see how they work after your local news and weather. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell. >> back to reality, and normal delays fall into place. just past the harrisburg expressway, prior to the exit, the j.f.x., 33 miles per hour there. coming towards this is the out of the traffic. the right lane is taken up just past the harrisburg expressway. if you want to head out on southbound 95, 25 miles per hour

on average. further south, looking good at o'donnell. at a whole lot in terms of volume at the fort mchenry. plenty of bright lights as you make your way towards ruxton road. 15 minutes on the adel of north east side. -- the outer loop are these side. nine-minute travel time from the 95 merged out to the harbor tunnel. >> at least the roads are mostly dry. 32 at the airport. upper 20s is to head towards sykesville and randallstown. this low pressure center passes down to our south. these are all dwindling and the skies should clear out into the afternoon. the winds are northwest, five-

to-10 miles per hour. our seven-day forecast, so quiet. minimal chances for precipitation.

we're back now, 8:00 on a wednesday morning. it is the second day of january, 2013. kind of a chilly one here in the northeast. we've got 23 degrees out on the plaza. that means it's a little brisk for the final few days of the christmas tree. that baby's coming down on monday. if you're in the area and want to get a glimpse, make it quick. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, along with erica hill, who is in for savannah, giving her a little bit of holiday time off. nice to have you here. >> nice to be here. >> what was your new year's resolution? we talked a little bit about

this prior to the holidays. >> i don't have a new year's resolution. >> you dntd make one? >> no. >> i'm kind of avoiding it. >> how many people here resolved to lose weight? we'll have more with that resolution coming up. >> indeed, we are. talking about this new eight-hour diet, david zinczenko is here. the premise is that you can eat whatever you want for a certain amount of time. >> little controversial, i would say. >> little controversial. and then maybe you got some of these gadgets over the holidays. >> oh, that's not right. >> we'll show you how to use these, the correct way, we hope. >> save a little or make a little more money in 2013. we've got the five ways you need to know -- five things you need to know to help you earn some more cash in 2013. >> always can use that. let's go inside. natalie is off today. willie geist is standing by at the news defining with a check of all the headlines. hi, willie.

>> hey, matt. good to see you all. good morning, everyone. president obama says he will sign the legislation approved by a divided house last night. it delays huge spending cuts that many economists feared would push the economy into a new recession. however, it does nothing really to avert the next fiscal cliff. in two months battles over further spending and, in particular, the u.s. federal debt limit will come to a head. classes start thursday in a nearby town for the students who survived the shooting rampage at their school in newtown, connecticut, nearly three weeks ago. their desks, backpacks and other belongings left behind in the chaos in that rampage have been taken to a different school building so the kids will feel comfortable there. hillary clinton is spending a fourth day in a new york city hospital. the secretary of state is being treated for a blood clot in her head discovered during a follow-up exam for the concussion she suffered last month. doctors expect mrs. clinton to make a full recovery. a celebrity photographer was killed after taking photos of

justin bieber's fechlt rarri on a busy street in los angeles. bieber had lent the car to a friend, who was speeding. no charges are expected to be fired against the motorist who hit him. >> now for a look at what's trending today, a quick roundup of what has you talking online. neil armstrong being accused of lying by his own brother. legendary astronaut claims his famous line, one small step for man was spontaneous, but don armstrong says in a new bbc documentary that it was really dreamed up months in advance of the lunar landing. kim kardashian says she's looking forward to becoming a mom but that going through pregnancy is hard. yes, it is. the 32-year-old reality star revealed her feelings when she stepped out on the red carpet for the first time since announcing she's expecting her first child with boyfriend kanye west. and going viral with this

version of taylor swift's "trouble". ♪ i knew you were trouble when you walked in shame on me now i drew me to places i've never been ♪ >> hollywoodlights.com reports those rumors that swift wrote the song about one direction member harry styles are true. now back to matt, erica and al. we can confirm the rumor that you've been investigating, matt, that that song was about harry styles. >> that story about neil armstrong and his brother, that's depressing. why would you bring it up now? >> we thought he would to have thought about it ahead of time and it wasn't completely spontaneous. >> why not let it go? >> it doesn't take away from what the man did. come on. >> wow, pushed your button. >> sure did.

>> start out the new year a little angry, okay. >> come on, neil armstrong walked on the moon. how many of us can say that? london falling. how are you ladies doing? what do you think about the news that taylor swift wrote that song about harry stiles? >> harry, i love you. >> how do you feel about that neil armstrong story? >> uh -- >> uh, all right. one question too many. thank you, ladies. pick city of the day, savannah, georgia. scattered showers. little cloudy. 63 degrees. we take a look, show you what's going on today. wet weather stretching from the gulf coast into the midatlantic coastal states. it's a weak frontal system. no big problems. look for plenty of sunshine in l.a. ahead of a clipper coming in,

blowing snow through the plains. sunshine, cooler side through the pacific northwest. >> quiet as people had back to school and work. clearing into the afternoon. highs in the 40's. and that's your latest weather. erica? the new eight-hour diet that says you can eat what you want. right after this. from the day , we're defined by a number. ♪

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we're back now at 8:09. millions of americans are beginning their new year's resolution to lose weight this morning. how are you going to shed those unwanted pounds? our good friend, david zinczenko is here with his new plan. it's called the eight-hour diet. good to see you. happy new year. >> happy new year, matt. >> we're normally here talking about healthier choices in restaurants, ways to save fat, calories and sodium. you came up with a diet plan now and raised the stakes a little bit. people really care about these, their health is at risk when they go into these things. you're confident about everything in this plan? >> yes. the fact is that every year we're getting heavier, sicker, diets aren't working. 95% of them are failing or dropping off the wagon. you know, this is brand new science. this is a plan that basically says, you can eat all your calories in your day but you're going to start eating in eight-hour windows even just three days a week, 11:00 to

7:00, 9:00 to 5:00. >> it's controversial. again it goes against some of the things we're going to talk about go against things we've been taught for years. the claims are pretty dramatic. you say if you follow this diet you'll look younger, feel younger and dramatically reduce your risk for getting the major diseases of our time. >> we're sleeping less than ever, working more than ever and eating more than ever, not giving our bodies a chance to process all of the food that we're taking in and all the toxins. by feasting for eight hours and fasting for 16 -- >> of famine -- >> even just three days a week, you'll reset your body to get on that path. i lost seven pounds in ten days when i adopted the plan. >> by the way, people could lose 20 pounds in six weeks. let's start. breakfast, the most important meal of the day? not according to you. >> delay breakfast. get up in the morning. turbo charge your metabolism a little bit. have some coffee, some tea. wait it out. if you want to have breakfast,

let's say your window is 9:00 to 5:00 or 10:00 to 6:00. get a few minutes of exercise in the morning. >> eight minutes of exercise? >> eight minutes. >> really going to help me? >> just jump-start your metabolism. that's all it's going to do. if you want to work out later for an hour or hour and a half, go for it. you'll turbo charge your metropolit metabolism first thing in the morning, get rid of the calories being stored in your liver. >> you are focusing on what you call power foods. give me some examples. >> this is not the hoony boo boo diet. this is not a junk food diet. it's not permission to indulge or -- >> we do indulge later in the day. >> you're getting your health boosters and fat busters, a variety of lean protein. you're getting good fats. you're getting complex carbohydrates. these are the things that will make sure you're getting the nutrients you need as you incorporate them in your diet for the day. >> the first meal, albeit a small one, comes at 11:00 in the morning for you. what's in that? >> right here, your yogurt with

berries, bran muffin. you're getting orange juice. you can go out and eat at a chain restaurant and get a 2,700 calorie french toast. the problem is that it's completely dwoid of nutrition. >> technically, that's your breakfast at 11:00. >> if you want something else, something bigger, go for it. >> 12:30 now it's time for lunch. you've got a salad, two big pieces of pizza. that's okay. if i want more of that pizza, can i have it? >> have a third piece of pizza. when you restrict it to eight hours it's hard to overeat. >> you could eat five, six pieces of pizza. >> replace this with fries if you want. if you wanted pizza and fries. >> and a bowl of soup? >> and a bowl of soup. >> later in the day, at 6:30, snacking is okay in between? >> you'll be able to fill your favorite foods, pizza, burgers, chocolate, wine. you can still do that. >> if i want to sit down with french fries for a snack, with an ice cream sundae for a snack,

that's okay? >> it's not permission to overeat, to gorge, to just go crazy. eat the foods that you want. this is not a food restriction plan. eight-hour diet is not about calorie restriction. it's just about respecting the window. >> some attention with dinner. 6:30 it's time for dinner. this is a dinner you say is okay. that is a ribeye steak. these are potatoes and vegetables and you said to me in the commercial break, eat that steak. you want another, you can have another. >> you're not really going to be able to eat all this food in an eight-hour window. by fasting for those 16 hours, your stomach is getting smaller. you're getting better at process ing all these calories. and you can even finish it off with a piece of chocolate cake. >> you're our friend here but we have to check these things. we talked to a lot of weight loss experts who had nothing to do with this diet. they had real reservations about it. they say it's restrictive in the sense that it limits how long you can eat, it doesn't promote healthy eating. >> well, it does if you get the eight power foods, try to

incorporate them into your day. you're getting all your nutrients. if you have a cobb salad and berries, boom, you've gotten seven or eight of them right there. look, we had 2,000 people on a test panel who, over six weeks, lost an average of 10 to 15 pounds and reported feeling a lot healthier. this is turning back the clock on aging. >> when i read this, i thought about people who had eating problems for a long period of time, getting on this diet. okay, got eight hours. they get to the seven-hour mark here, david, you've got them eating dinner and they're going i'm going to have to go 16 hours without eating. i'm going to have that second steak, the second helping of potatoes. >> you can cut this in half. what this is doing is helping you feel fuller longer. you can make it till the next day. but, again, you don't have to do it seven days a week or five days a week. you can just do it three days a week and still see enormous benefits. >> you stand by this entire principle? >> yeah. >> you think people can lose up

to five pounds a week, maybe 20 pounds in six weeks? david zinczenko, good to have you here. the book is called "the eight-hour diet." we'll test out the newest exercise gadgets right after this. let's go places. not just the ones you can find on a map. but the ones you can find in your heart. because inspiration doesn't favor those who sit still. it dances with the daring and rewards the courageous with ideas. ideas that inspire. ideas that take you places you never imagined. ideas big enough to make the heart skip a beat and, in some cases, maybe two. toyota. let's go places. and, in some cases, maybe two. i've always had to keep my eye on her... but, i didn't always watch out for myself. with so much noise about health care... i tuned it all out. with unitedhealthcare, i get information that matters... my individual health profile. not random statistics. they even reward me for addressing my health risks.

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and said, "you're gonna get a total of about $10,000 back." i wave my wand and refunds suddenly appear. i can help you. back at 8:19 with the newest fads in fitness just in time for your new year's residenolution get skinny. a personal certified trainer is here to put them to the test. >> skinny are lofty goals but we'll get awfully close. let's face it, with as little effort as possible to boot, right? it is not surprising with every new year comes a whole new generation of get fit fast products. you know the saying. new year, new you.

>> great legs. >> reporter: and in years past maybe that new you starts with a little squeezing. >> squeeze your way to shapely hips and thighs. >> reporter: a little bit of shaking. >> just shake it. >> reporter: and some good old-fashioned sweating to the oldies, of course. >> pop, pop, pop, pop. ♪ >> reporter: and now that the gifts have been unwrapped, maybe you were lucky enough to receive the next generation of these fine products. >> that will make your muscles cry. >> reporter: from a flexible dumbbell to a bendy body blade, these devices are designed to give you good vibrations all year long. ♪ shake that body shake that body for me ♪ >> okay. we've got three ganltdgets, kinf popular exercise gadgets. i don't know why i'm calling

them gadgets. fitness tools. they're charming and fun to play with. everybody has one? four different exercises we can do with this. put your hand on top. we'll move the ball around. yes. you should be able to do this for 30 seconds. really move it in a circle. move it in there. >> it does get tiring quickly, no question. >> on the side, grab the side. let's move it this way. so, it's going to target a little bit of different muscles. you only have to do about ten minutes a day. >> ten minutes total? >> yeah, 30 seconds at a time. hold it down by your side. move side to side. go for 30 seconds. you start to feel it. >>definitely. >> right? >> oh, gosh, yeah. >> how heavy are these? >> they're not heavy at all. they're less than half a pound. this will move around, force your body -- mostly dumbbells work one muscle in one direction. these move a number of muscles.

>> do you recommend this or think it's a good thing? >> yeah. i think it's great. in a hotel, on the road, this is great. >> in the jenna wolfe personal arsenal here? >> if you close your eyes and not think about this too much, it would definitely be in the jenna wolfe arsenal. the body blade. let me grab one of these to show you, grab one of these just like this. >> how much does this thing weigh? >> pound and a half. >> pound and a half. >> these blades will move about 270 times a minute. that means your body is resisting it 270 times. >> the same principle then as the other one? >> exactly. >> causing your muscles to react in other ways that aren't used to reacting. >> this one is really targeting the core. >> hit me in the back of the head. >> this has a three stooges concept. >> go over your head? >> get into the shoulders a little bit.

perfect. >> and is this a 30 second -- you could do a whole class on this? >> you could do a whole class. >> if you spin around at the same time, that's the goal, to get light enough where you can lift yourself off the ground. >> how much are these, by the way? >> this is about $50. this one will run about $0. they're affordable. again, it's something -- it's very light. you can use it. >> and it fits in your carry-on luggage. >> no one will question you. >> just my body blade. >> this is the hyper vibe. hop on the machine. >> effort in full disclosure. >> go for it. >> i have a different brand of this. i love this. >> hit on/off. hit enter. hit enter one more time and then you're going to go with your plus sign, give it 15 or 20. >> power supply has been

disconnected. >> you should start feeling it. there you go. >> hard to do any kind of an interview with this. >> now what you can do from here -- >> ours aren't working. >> whoa! i love this thing. >> al try to do a little bit of a squat. you can do some biceps curls. >> you're too younger to remember this. al and i remember this. remember the machines, a lot of women used with the belt around you. >> if you hold some milk, ice cream. >> latte. >> shake it at the same time. >> do one-legged squats on here. you can do a bunch of different things. >> you like this one, too? >> you're not fwri briing this

one on the road with you in a hotel room or anything. you can do sits, matt. >> i did that. if you have neighbors downstairs, check with them first. it does make a -- >> happy holidays, guys. >> thank you very much. >> you are very welcome. five ways to bring you extra cash in the new year.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell. >> heavy delays on the entire north side in both directions to to an outer loop accident at the j.f.x. 34 miles per hour on the outer loop. inner loop traffic at 795 towards the j.f.x. accident off to the right shoulder on the outer loop of the j.f.x.. greenspring, in a traffic backed up heavily towards the accident scene.

28 mi. per hour from approaching white marsh towards the 85 split. 22 miles per hour from the paul ryan all into tow -- 22 miles per hour from the beltway all the way into town. only a 12-minute travel time in contrast on the last side. ava, over to you. >> roads are dry right now. 31 degrees at b.w.i. marshall. 35 downtown in baltimore. clouds to start, but there should clear out in the afternoon. high-pressure should build in and bring it up quiet weather. today, temperatures near 40 degrees northwest winds at 5 to 10 miles per hour.

each and every day, lows in 20s. >> back with another update at 8:26 -- 8:56.

wednesday morning, 2nd day of january, 2013. as we pan the studio we've got a group of hardy people out on the plaza with temperatures in the mid 20s. we get to the middle of this final week of the holiday season, i'm matt lauer with erica hill while savannah is

taking a little time off. mr. al roker here and willie geist out on that side. what do we have coming up? >> a lot of good stuff, including -- i don't know if you ever thought of getting paid for having an opinion. probably would be nice or getting paid to have someone listen to you. one of the ways you can make a little extra cash and we'll have more of those to share with you as well. you could use that cash perhaps to go out and buy some of those big-ticket items. we put together a season by season guide for you, whether you're talking about cars, appliances or mattresses, the best time to get a great deal. >> all right. meanwhile, we want to tell you that kathie lee is off today and hoda has the new year's resolution to help out some of the pioneers of broadcasting. >> you know what? >> wow! >> what a shot. >> she did for five years. >> and to help out on the fourth

hour, how are you? happy new year. >> happy new year, guys. good to see you all. >> what made you decide to do this, by the way? >> cash. >> exactly. >> we'll be there to keep you warm. >> what are you people doing, by the way, in those ridiculous things? >> the same thing you did for five years here. that's what we were doing. >> okey doke. >> we're going to remind her at 10:00, big time. >> what do you have coming up? >> we'll talk about what's been going on so far in the new year, lot of gossip going on. and also there are these two diets that are out there, the one that meredith is crazy about, the virgin one, and another one. >> new year's resolution, losing weight. >> do you know what you're in for with this one? >> she told me just don't read anything. >> like the other five years you were here. >> good to see you. >> mr. roker?

>> let's show you what we've got, starting off with the clipper blowing snow in the plains, wet weather through the gulf coast into the southeastern atlantic states, chilly in the pacific northwest with sunshine. for tomorrow, we're expecting that snow, lake-effect snow to continue. it is going to be awfully cold in the plains, single digits, low teens. we've got >> starting off with clouds. high temperature in the upper 30's to the low 40's. no major >> get that weather any time you

need it. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> all right. when we come back, five great ways to make a little extra money and boost your bottom line in 2013. but first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:36. this morning, five ways to bring in some extra cash in 2013. sharon epperson is cnbc's financial consultant. all the wrangling over the fiscal cliff the last couple of days it was essentially avoided. >> yes. >> there could be some changes for folks. what do we need to look for? >> the payroll tax holiday they enjoyed is now over. they'll see a 2% jump in the y payroll tax. that will impact the typical american family that makes $55,000 a year by about $1,000. you'll see less in your take home pay. >> that could be yet another

reason why some people may be looking for a little extra income in 2013. >> exactly. >> you have five great ideas for us, cashing in those gift cards you got for christmas. >> it's a great gift but what if you don't really want to shop anymore? you can cash in these gift cards, up to 92% of the value of the gift card at sites like cardpool.com. plasticjungle.com. it's worth looking to see if you're not going to get anything from these retailers, you can get cash back and a quick way to make a few extra dollars. >> part-time job could also be -- >> working a couple of extra hours at a part-time job. sn snagajob.com, great site to find hourly jobs that pay $10 to $11 an hour. retail is still a big industry. they're still hiring. customer service, all those things are grit for part-time jobs. >> taxgrabit.com. what's that? >> you list odd jobs. people list odd jobs that they might want. you bid on that odd job. the lowest bid, you get to do the job. that's a way you may actually

make some extra money as well. >> if you have a little hobby, you can make some money on it, start your own online store. >> if you make jewelry, crafts, have vintage goods to sell you can put your stuff on there. basically you're creating your own online store, great way to sell stuff and get products as well. >> minimal cost to you as well as a seller. >> you may pai a minimal amount for four months to keep it on there. that's something you want to consider. with all of these things if there's a fee involved, how much you make. >> if you're a teacher, share your lesson plans for a fee. >> really creative teachers with great lesson plans. you have to look at perhaps what the service fee may be for these service sites. another thing you may want to think about are peer to peer

that will match you with a tutor and tutors get paid an average of $12 to $15 an hour and there's a great site called udemy. half a million people use this site. you're able to put up your online classes, whatever you an expert in, do a video, put up your online class. that's another site to look into. >> people basically pay to take your class online? >> exactly. >> never even knew that existed. i had a roommate obsessed with this one and made a lot of money doing it. >> if you're near a college campus, in particular, doing studies. all you're doing is sharing your opinion and getting paid for it. what could be better than doing something like that? >> how much are you making per focus group? >> it depends on what the focus group is. it may be a couple of dollars. this is not a way to get rich quick really. it's really a way to add a few extra dollars and something you may want to do, particularly because you're going to see your take home pay cut here with the

payroll tax increase. something to consider. >> when you mentioned those part-time jobs, what are some of the other industries we can look to? >> health care is always growing. people are looking into that. they're also looking at personal care services, another industry that a lot of folks are interested in. when you look at these sites again, figure out how much time you can spend per week. it's a great way to earn some extra cash. couple of hours a week, not a full-time job. not a second job necessarily. >> right. >> a lot more information on cnbc.com. >> sharon, nice to see you this morning. >> sure. great to be here. how it's so elusi investment and how to get more of it

we're back now at 8:42 with

"the myths of happiness" a new book that looks at the impacts of happiness. you may be surprised at what she found. everyone is in search of happiness. >> even the word happy can seem like an abstract term, meaning different things to different people. >> figuring out just how to be happy and stay that way can be a mystery. >> i would say having kids. i feel like that's my sole purpose like on this earth. >> being married sounds awesome, perfect. >> sonja lujbermorsky. >> i'll be happy when x, y and z happens, when i meet mr. right, when i get that promotion i've wanted, when i make money. >> she says these life events do make us happy but that the cruel truth is not for as long as we would like.

psychologically and physiologically, people take positive experiences for granted. >> that's one of the myths of happiness. almost nothing makes us happy forever. we get used to positive changes in our lives. >> that doesn't have to be a death nail for happiness and good cheer. there are a few things to help us stay in that positive place. >> what you're focusing on at this moment really determines your experience. it kind of determines your life. >> actually, the less you are thinking about what you want and what you don't have, the more you can just be connected to what you do have. >> research shows that people who, on a regular basis, express gratitude, whether it's in writing or to a friend about their lives, their health, their jobs, their relationships. they become happier. >> i know some people who aren't happy in their relationships. it just kind of brings everything down. >> keys to happiness, invest in your relationship. redirect your attention on the things in life that really

matter, on the positives. it's a huge cliche to say this, but really happiness resides inside of us, not outside of us. >> here with more on the pursuit of happiness is gretchen ruben, best selling memoir, "happy at home." happy new year. >> happy new year. >> why is it so elusive, happiness? >> it's something we strive for and if we don't get the things we want, it doesn't make us happy, which we expect. things like anxiety, remorse, guilt, fear. these things are big flashing signals we need to change something in our lives. even negative emowings have an important role to play in a happy life. >> when people define happiness, they tend to define it in terms of a perfect life and it can never happen? >> exactly. i think it's helpful to be happier, not achieve some myth

iccal goefl a happy life or achieving perfect happiness but thinking today, next week, next month, what can i do to be happier? >> one of the ladies in the piece, one of the women in the piece said sometimes you have to stop and think about what you do have, not what you don't have. i've been through difficult times in my life and often times have found really happy times because of those difficult times. good friends, good family, things like that. >> absolutely. negative situations can often remind us of what really matters. one thing my mother says is that the things that go wrong often make the best memories. sometimes the thing that is seem terrible while it's happening often leads to very good results. >> you have children. how do you teach them about what is part of happiness and what isn't? >> there's sort of an unconsciousness with regard to children. but i talk about what i can do to make our home and environment happy. not feeling hurried, having a

tender feeling of engagement. stepping away from devices, things like that. >> that's a big one. >> yeah. >> you have some tips. some of these are interesting. first thing you say is make your bed. >> this sounds so silly, right? so trivial in a happy life. so many people have told me this is something they tried and it really works for them. it's a little bit of control, little bit of order first thing in your day. you can actually get it done. >> 4:10 in the morning, i should make my bed even if my wife is still in it? >> no, no, no. >> i shouldn't do that? >> last one out of the bed makes the bed. >> warm feelings. >> every time someone comes or goes we get up and give them a warm feeling of good-bye or hello. none of this grunting. that gives you this feeling of engagement and tenderness. >> it's heartfelt.

>> yes. >> unless it's not. unless somebody goes hi, how are you? if you stand up and take the time to recognize someone, not only arriving but also departing, i think it means something. it comes from the heart. >> it gives you that feeling that people are really paying attention to each other. >> increase personal relationships. this is an important one. one of the reasons people tend to be unhappy is because they lack personal relationships. >> absolutely true. ancient philosophers and contemporary analysts agree. joining a book group, going to a high school reunion, making a pledge that you'll have lunch with a friend once a week, these keep relationships. >> last one is a little maybe on the silly side. but surround yourself with pleasing scents. i'm a big fan of this. >> there's no calories. there's no money. there's no time. there's no mental focus. just smell a grapefruit. smell clean house, smell a bottle of vanilla. buy a scented candle.

you get that quick hit of happiness, just that bodily sense of joy. it's very small but it can really lift you up. >> gretchen, thank you very much. we appreciate t happy new year to you again. >> happy new year to you. up next, need a new mattress? how about a refrigerator? season by season guide as to when the stores have the best deals of the year. we'll get to that but first this is "today" on nbc.nb initiated.

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this morning on "today's" consumer, become a savvier shopper in 2013, knowing what to buy and when to buy it. who doesn't love a good bargain? there are certain times of year we should buy certain items. >> this is called smart shopping, it's about knowing the calendar year, when things come up for sale, when new introductions are made. when new introductions are made, the old stuff goes out. you can start and think about your year, if you've got something in mind that you want to buy, you might want to hold off till the right time. we broke it down quarterly. >> perfect. >> start with the first quarter. >> start with winter. january to march, holiday items, we know, will be on that list. >> that's a no brainer. every time after a holiday the best time to buy for that holiday is right after. you'll get 50% off on wrapping

paper, you name it. 50% off on chocolate after valentine's day. go through the calendar year you can figure that one out. >> exercise equipment, treadmills and ellipticals. >> if you haven't bought one for christmas and retailers are hoping that at least they can entice you to come in so you can fulfill some of those new year's resolutions. that's why prices are lower through this month. if you want to get in shape now is the time to go and buy one. >> no more excuses. furniture and linens. >> furniture follows fashion in a lot of ways. think of the same calendar a lot of clothing goes on sale and winter clothing goes on sale in january. same thing with furniture. retails are trying to get the old models out. now in terms of linens, white sale we think of in january, it dates back to 1878 when john wannamaker created this white sale. also the man responsible for creating the price tag. so people have obviously followed him and followed suit.

that's why white sales take place right now or this quarter. >> got it. moving on to spring, mattresses. >> so mattresses get released, new models come out in may. those older models will be on sale. that's a great time to get your mattress. >> gym membership. >> as the weather gets warmer, people want to go outside. gyms are more apt to not only waive the membership fee but cut back on pricing. >> also lingerie in the spring. >> the turnover, you don't think of major turnover in styles in lingerie but that happens in june. best time to do it is early, end of spring, beginning of summer. >> you prefer to do all that work around the house in the spring, tools and hardware. >> really, really follows father's day. you'll get your best bang around father's day. if you want to stock up on screwdrivers, et cetera, that's the time to buy those. >> also around father's day, but moving into the summer months,

outdoor grills are a good deal. >> outdoor grills you want to buy after fourth of july. they go on sale after and towards those summer months. >> 2013 cars also become a better deal in the summer. >> september. the newer models start coming in. 2014 will start coming in september. they're trying to get rid of older models from september straight through december. >> bikes and school supplies as well. >> bikes follow cars, same models and school supplies, back-to-school deals, retailers are really competitive. those are real deals. you'll get your best stuff in august, september. >> best time to stock up. patio furniture, end of season in the fall. >> october, november is when you want to buy that. >> and electronics in the fall. why in the fall? >> electronics, a couple of things that your best bet for electronics is to wait for black friday and cyber monday. don't forget new models are coming in. there's been the electronics show. black friday, those are real deal.

>> and large appliances as well. >> same thing. newer models coming in. that starts like the end of the fall through january, like even now. it's kind of the last quarter. >> and i can't believe i'm suggesting this since we just finished but for toys, holiday shopping, this is the best time for them actually. >> toys is december. that's when you'll get the best deals. anyone from amazon, you name it. they had great deal this is year, toys r us. they'll continue to do that. usually they do 25 days of christmas. >> the year is now maxed out. thank you. happy new year again. speaking of things to buy, we have exclusive steals and deals for you this morning. but first your local news.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. baltimore county police are looking into incidents that happened at a new year's party at a timonium hotel. officers responded to three separate calls at the crown plaza hotel -- a fight, a drug overdose, and the stabbing.

officers are still

>> sky clearing into the afternoon. high temperatures into the upper 30's and low 40's. seven-day forecast shows temperatures around 40 each and every day. minimal chances for any rain or snow. >> back with another update at

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